Greece is the Word

Our two-week trip to Greece was made all the more special because we were joined by our daughter, Meagan, daughter-in-law Carolyn, and our dear friends Norma and Juan Rengel. Will and I arrived a day early in Athens just in time for a lovely sunset. Meagan and Carolyn arrived the next morning and we enjoyed a relaxing, lazy afternoon at the hotel's fabulous roof top pool. This rooftop oasis has a wonderful view of the Acropolis and the back of the Parthenon. There is no mistaking which city you are visiting.

Our tour was comprised of 36 travelers from all over the US with a good mix of ages. As always with Gate 1, it was a congenial group led by a wonderful tour manager, Angeliki.

ATHENS

Our tour started with a panoramic tour of the city. We stopped at Syntagma Square to see the changing of the guard. Then we went to the Panathenaic Stadium. Made entirely of marble it is built on the site of an ancient race course. After being excavated, it was used for the first modern Olympics in 1896. It is still in use today and is the finishing point for the Athens marathon.

Next was the Acropolis. Although we arrived in the morning, it was already crowded. It was also extremely windy. This made it very hard to take pictures and hold on to one's hat. The climb from the parking lot was daunting....the first of many to come.

We enjoyed our visit to the Acropolis museum. This is new since I last visited 29 years ago. It is built atop some ancient ruins which they have covered with plexiglass walkways. Many of the original artifacts, including the wonderful karyatids are housed here now, with reproductions displayed at the Acropolis. It is a wonderful museum which provided excellent context for our visit.

Impressions of Athens:

Overall, Athens is not a city we long to return to. It is crowded, chaotic, and broken down. There are lots of abandoned and vandalized buildings. Other than the obvious points of interest there is no real draw to the city.

Tip: If you visit Greece, you have to go through Athens. Spend one day seeing the sights and then head out to the countryside or an island.

Next Stops: Mycenae and Naufplion

After our full day in Athens, we headed off across the Peloponnese and beyond for a few days. Our first stop was the Corinth Canal, that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. Then we were off to Mycenae, which is best known in mythology as the city of Agamemnon, the son of Atreus. King Agamemnon led the expedition against Troy during the Trojan War, which Homer accounted in his epic poem the Iliad. In addition to explore this archeological site, we saw the Tomb of Artreus and the famous lion's head gate. The views from up there were stunning.

We had a lunch stop at the lovely town of Naufplion. I had visited Naufplion during my first trip to Greece in the last millennium. I was pleased to see that it validated my memories of this lovely seaside village. There were lots of school trips everywhere we went. (It was hilarious listening to our tour manager complain about them. "Don't they ever go to school?") One group either: 1) thought I was swell and wanted me to take their picture, or 2) Gestured with the Greek equivalent of flipping the bird.

On to Olympia

The archeological site of Olympia is beautiful, serene, and huge. We toured several of the remains of buildings and temples as well as the stadium where the games were first held in 776 B.C. The Olympiads continued through 393 A.D. Requisite touristy family photos are included. Will wanted me to report that he walked the length of the stadium and back. It kicked his ass.

The archeological museum at Olympia is outstanding. It holds many of the archeological treasures that have been discovered there. These museums are really helpful in picturing when the sites looked like in ancient times.

Our lunch stop was at a nearby restaurant. In addition to the meal, they offered cooking lessons which both Meagan and Carolyn participated in. They also offered dancing lessons that had Norma (on the left) dancing on a table. Meagan and Carolyn were able to hold Olympic flame torches that were actually used in some recent Olympics. Don't ask me which games they were from.

Next it was on to Nafpaktos for a coffee stop. This was another charming seaside town. One of the sculptures was of Cervantes. I can't remember why he was there. Our day ended in Arachova with beautiful views and sunset from our hotel.

Next Stop: Delphi

Delphi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is perched on the side of Mount Parnassos. It is considered to be on of the most significant archeological excavations in Greek history. The site is named for the Oracle of Delphi who, in ancient times, was believed to be the purveyor of truth revealed by Apollo. She was badass. There is another wonderful archeological museum at this site which is where Will and I spent most of our time.

Onward to Meteora

After spending the night in Kalambaka, we visited the bizarre natural rock formations of Meteora, which means "suspended in the air." Several of these tall rock spikes are topped with Eastern Orthodox monasteries, full of Byzantine art. The photos do not truly capture the panoramic views, grandeur, and geological weirdness of the area. It left us scratching our heads wondering why the monks decided that they just had to have their monasteries up there.

Back to Athens

On our way back to Athens, we went by Thermopylae. site of the famous battle between Greek and Persian forces. Upon arrival back in Athens, we were treated to another lovely sunset.

Ferry Across the Aegean to Mykonos

After an early wake up call, we all boarded the ferry to the Island of Mykonos. It was a five-hour trip but it was smooth and very comfortable. After getting settled in our hotel, we took a walking tour of the town to see the winding alleys, famous windmills, and the many boutiques and shops. We then enjoyed a wonderful meal by the water and saw a bit of the sunset.

The next day, many of our fellow travelers went to the nearby island of Delos. Will and I opted for a chill day. We walked on the beach right by our hotel and lazed by the pool. The cruise ships were lined up three deep and we had no interest in fighting the crowds in town. It was a really nice day, good to just chill, and Will got to put his feet in the Aegean. The photo on the top left was taken at the hotel. It is deceiving because while lovely, the hotel is built into the side of a large and steep hill. No elevators. Our room was up about three floors on a steep and winding walkway. The pool was even farther up. I was relieved that we were not the only ones challenged by the climbing.

The next day we took an island tour that included a visit to the 16th century Monastery of Panagia Tourliani. Then we were off to Paradise Beach which is the hotbed of nightlife on Myknonos. It used to be a haven for hippies and the wall art shows that legacy. There are a ton of bars, restaurants, and clubs along the beach. We learned that some of the clubs don't open until 3 a.m. Some of our fellow travelers hit Paradise Beach at night and lived to tell about it. I wished we had a little more time there because the people watching was world-class.

Our Last Stop: Santorini

Our day began with another ferry ride. This time we went for the two and a half hour trip from Mykonos to Santorini. This one was especially chaotic. During both departure and arrival, there was a seven minute interval to get 800 people (and some cars) off the ferry and get 800 more people back on. I was able to snap a few photos as we were preparing to disembark in Santorini. It is amazing we didn't lose anyone. It was nuts.

Upon arrival, we were treated to the hair raising ride up to the top of the cliffs on the windy, scary, highway to hell. But, from there, the views were spectacular.

That late afternoon and evening we visited some wineries and were treated to a spectacular sunset over the caldera with the volcanic islands in the foreground. The smiling woman in the photo below is our intrepid tour manager, Angeliki. She was so knowledgeable, organized, cheerful, patient, and funny.

Our second day on Santorini, included a walk through Megalachori, one of the traditional villages on the island. It was lovely to see a place that was largely untouched by the over-tourism that characterizes the rest of the island.

The next stop was Akroteri, which is a huge archeological site. This village was plagued by volcanoes several times in the second century B.C. It was finally abandoned in around 1600 B.C. and buried by the volcanic ash. It was discovered in 1967 and has been a live archeological site since then. I visited Akroteri in 1996 and I was amazed at how much larger the site is now. It is also covered by a roof -- partly to protect the site and partly to provide some much-needed and welcomed shade. They still have a lot of work to do as archeologists believe they have only uncovered about 10% of the site. All of the frescoes and some other treasures are housed in Athens at the National Archeological Museum. I love this place. The two happy women in the photo below are from the modern era.

We walked to lunch at a black sand beach in the modern village of Akroteri and had lunch in a cool taverna built into a cave.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool. Then we were off to the town of Oia at the far north end of the island for dinner. Oia is perched on a cliff and is known for the sunsets. There is just one sidewalk that goes through town. This walkway is lined with shops and absolutely packed with people. We did some shopping and had dinner at a rooftop restaurant for what turn out to be a so-so sunset.

Our last day in Santorini was spent chilling at the somewhat chilly hotel pool. We walked to the nearby black sand beach for lunch. Then we had our farewell dinner at a restaurant with another lovely view. We had a wonderful trip with the Rengels, Meagan, and Carolyn.

We're already looking forward to our next travel adventures.